George Russell demands the implementation of an ‘automated’ safety car system after getting stranded in the middle of the track at the Australian GP

George Russell had a horrific crash during the 2024 Australian GP.

George Russell demands the implementation of an ‘automated’ safety car system after getting stranded in the middle of the track at the Australian GP

George Russell (via IMAGO), George Russell crashing at the Australian GP (via Formula 1).

Reflecting on what happened at the Australian GP, Mercedes driver, George Russell believes that there should be a proper system for safety after an incident on the track. During the 58-lap Albert Park event, after the Brit hit the wall, his car bounced back and was stranded in the middle of the track for quite some time.

Despite George Russell pleading on the radio multiple times red flag, red flag, the safety car never appeared. A few seconds after the incident, a virtual safety car was activated but by then, Lance Stroll had already passed the stranded W15 along with a few other cars.

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What came as a surprise was that the race continued with just a virtual car, without any safety action being taken. Russell is not too pleased with how the situation was handled.

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We've seen close incidents before where a car comes back [onto the track after a crash] – Carlos [Sainz] in 2022 in Japan. I think we need to find a way that if a car is in a danger zone, [there could be an] automated VSC straight away – within half a second or so because those seconds count.
George Russell via Autosport

The 25-year-old has made it quite clear that the decision-makers around the pinnacle of motor racing have to come up with some potent solution to deal with on-track incidents. Seeing how quickly the sport has evolved, Russell genuinely feels some kind of action has to be taken to deal with incidents in a swift and competent manner.

Fernando Alonso claims he’ll not change driving style despite Australian GP incident

Fernando Alonso decided to use his brakes at turn six during the last lap of the Australian GP, which affected George Russell badly, as he got in a crash. However, Alonso was very disappointed after receiving the 20-second penalty for the same.

Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso (Via: Imago)

The Spaniard believes that any racing driver would do what he did.

There is nothing we can do, we have to accept it and move on and concentrate on here. But I think it will not change much about how we drive and how we approach racing. There is no obligation to drive 57 laps in the same way. Sometimes we get a slower pace, to save fuel, to save tyres, to save battery.
Fernando Alonso via : Planetf1

The 42-year-old believes that if it was at any other track, Russell wouldn’t have gotten into a crash. Alonso did admit that the turn six at the Albert Park circuit is a blind spot and dangerous. But he is still surprised that he was penalized for what went down. He feels it was the hardest penalty of the ongoing 2024 F1 season. Alonso ended his Australian GP antics in eighth place because of the strong penalty.

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